1. Summary of the Invention
This invention relates to a method and apparatus for aerated biofiltration support and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus comprising filter, support assembly and associated components for effecting a flow of fluid across the filter to effect the removal of contaminants from the water in which the apparatus is located, including aeration, biological filtration, circulation, degassing and foam fractionation of the fluid crossing the substrate, the function and application are not dependent on fish in the fluid since the method and apparatus are applicable to any fluid containing contaminants from any origins.
2. Description of the Background Art
There is an ever-increasing demand for fish. Such fish might be utilized for human consumption, for aquariums, for ornamental ponds, or for a wide variety of other purposes. To meet this demand, fish are grown in reservoirs, ponds, aquariums, artificial containers, or the like. The care and maintenance of such fish, however, is an expense which increases the unit cost or price per pound of the fish or requires considerable expense in complex water pump and filtration systems. A wide variety of techniques have been attempted in the past to increase the efficiency of reservoirs. Such past attempts have been limited in their success.
By way of technical background, fish and other aquatic animals, in both fresh and salt water, take in food through their mouths and oxygen through their gills. They excrete nitrogenous waste into the water. Within such waste is ammonia, a toxic substance which has the negative effects on fish of reducing growth and stressing immune systems and if left unchecked will quickly be fatal. The toxic by-products of this waste are generated in the metabolism of the fish during the natural life sequence. Also in the natural sequence, such toxic by-products are dissolved in water. Only limited quantities of such by-products in water can be tolerated before the negative effects will cause mortalities.
In the natural sequence, one naturally occurring byproduct of the partially toxic water are beneficial bacteria and other microfauna that are present in the gut of fish, aquatic animals, sediments and water column. Such bacteria and microfauna would tend to coat surfaces of a reservoir or the bottom of a pond. Such bacteria and microfauna would tend to consume, and thus remove, the toxic wastes from the water to extend the usefulness of the water in retaining fish and other aquatic life. These same bacteria and microfauna, through the natural processes of selecting and metabolizing the full range of nutrients available to the numerous species of bacteria and microfauna are also capable of metabolizing the nutrients that nominally result in algal growth. The high concentration of aerated, aerobic bacteria and microfauna present in the substrate successfully compete with the algae present in the pond. The bacteria and microfauna significantly reduce the levels of algae present by metabolizing the nutrients needed by the algae for growth. The degassing of carbon dioxide also serves to limit this growth factor required by algae and therefore also serves to reduce the levels of visible algae present. The ability of this invention to serve as a processing site to efficiently metabolize the ammonia and nutrients resulting from fish farming while successfully competing with algae for their nutrients, enables this invention to serve a dual purpose either with or without fish present in the body of water.
The present invention is also a most effective solution for removing contaminants to virtually all landscape and ornamental water systems including decorative fish ponds, golf course waterways, retention ponds, lagoons, etc. in which both natural and man-made sources of nutrients such as lawn and plant fertilizers and other sources of runoff enter these waters.
Various approaches are utilized commercially and are disclosed in the literature for increasing the efficiency of methods and apparatus for removing contaminants from water. By way of example, note U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,623,454 to Tauscher, 4,634,534 to Cominetta and 4,666,593 to Bosne. These patents disclose filter media for effecting the purification of water thereacross. In addition, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,852,384 to Bearden and 4,690,756 to Ry disclose mechanisms for effecting a flow of fluids for water purification purposes.
Also pertinent is U.S. Pat. No. 3,235,234 to Beaudoin. According to that disclosure, plural plates are placed in water. The plates are coupled in a spaced relationship with respect to each other. A flow of water is effected to cause movement between the water and plates in a horizontal direction. Unlike the present invention there are no generally vertical tubes to effect a vertical flow of fluid, there are no mechanisms to effect the flow of fluid to generate any oscillating motion to the substrate to effect self-cleaning of the substrate, there are none of the increased beneficial effects of a composite biofiltration, nitrification, aeration, circulation, degassing and foam fractionation as in the present invention.
Although many such advances are noteworthy for one purpose or another, none achieves the objectives of an efficient, reliable, inexpensive, convenient to use system for effecting a flow of fluid across a filter to effect the removal of contaminants including biofiltration, nitrification, aeration, circulation, degassing and foam fractionation of the water in which the system is located.
As illustrated by a great number of prior patents and known commercial techniques, efforts are continuously being made in an attempt to purify reservoir water more efficiently, reliably, inexpensively and conveniently. None of these prior efforts, however, provides the benefits attendant with the present invention. Additionally, prior techniques do not suggest the present inventive combination of method steps and component elements as disclosed and claimed herein. The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objectives and advantages over the prior art through a new, useful and unobvious combination of claimed method steps and components which is simple to use, with the utilization of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture and by employing only readily available materials and requires no maintenance even after years of continuous operation.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved apparatus and method for removing contaminants from a body comprising in combination the steps of positioning a filter means in the water, the filter means having pluralities of surfaces providing high surface area per volume; supporting biological agents on the surfaces for removing contaminants from water to be cleaned as it flows through the filter means; locating the filter means spaced from the bottom of the water to be cleaned; providing a fluid flow means with a discharge component; effecting the flow of a pressurized fluid by the fluid flow means, from the discharge component, through the water, and across the surfaces in circuitous paths for the removing of contaminants from the water; and positioning the discharge component beneath the filter means and above the bottom of the water for directing the flow of water through the filter means.
It is a further object of the invention to support a filter so that the flow of water thereover will effect its purification
It is a further object of the invention to effect the flow of water over a filter to effect the removal of its contaminants including biofiltration, nitrification, aeration, circulation, degassing and foam fractionation.
It is a further object of the invention to utilize a filter support assembly as a conduit for directing a flow of water purifying air across the supported filter.
It is an object of the present invention to maximize the quantity of fish which may be grown in a reservoir and to reduce the need to maintain algae in a sunlit reservoir to bioconvert nutrient loads.
Lastly, it is an object of the present invention to remove contaminants from a body of water including decorative fish ponds, golf course waterways, retention ponds, lagoons as well as fish faiths.
The foregoing has outlined some of the more pertinent objects of the invention. These objects should be construed to be merely illustrative of some of the more prominent features and applications of the intended invention. Many other beneficial results can be obtained by applying the disclosed invention in a different manner or by modifying the invention within the scope of the disclosure. Accordingly, other objects and a fuller understanding of the invention may be had by referring to the summary of the invention and the detailed description of the preferred embodiments in addition to the scope of the invention defined by the claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.